Wolf Warriors (2015) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Blu-ray Region All

Jing himself headlines as Leng Feng, the film opening with him as a top sniper in a Chinese Special Forces squad, who angers his superiors after ignoring orders and killing a drug kingpin called Wu Ji. Luckily for him his headstrong behavior and considerable skills catch the eye of the elite Wolf Warrior unit, and soon enough Leng finds himself recruited and reporting to its attractive female commander Long Xiao Yun (Yu Nan, No Man’s Land). His first operation comes in the form of a war games exercise which pits him against his former comrades and officer (Shi Zhaoqi, Million Dollar Crocodile), leading to the expected rivalry and posturing. The danger level is notched up when a gang of ruthless mercenaries headed by ex-Navy Seal Tom Cat (western star Scott Adkins, who has appeared in a variety of both Asian and Hollywood films, including the recent The Legend of Hercules) turn up, targeting Leng Feng on the orders of Wu Ji’s vengeful brother and fellow drug lord Min Peng (Ni Dahong, The Assassins).

Unsurprisingly, Wolf Warriors is pretty much non-stop action from start to finish, and Wu Jing keeps the set pieces coming thick and fast as the film sprints through its short hour and a half running time. What is surprising, especially given Wu’s background and the presence of Scott Adkins, is the fact that the film features only minimal martial arts or fisticuffs, sticking almost entirely to gun battles and sniper shootouts. There’s nothing wrong with this of course, and Wu, backed by veteran choreographer Li Chung Chi (whose career has seen him work on early Jackie Chan films through to Ip Man: the Final Fight) handles the action very well, and though not terribly original, the film is suitably exciting and impressively-staged. While rather videogame style at times, the violence does have a reasonable amount of impact, boasting a high body count and plenty of CGI blood, and with lots of amusingly gratuitous background explosions adding an enjoyably bombastic and old school air.

The film is considerably less assured away from its action scenes, though thankfully in a way which at least some viewers will likely find unintentionally amusing, Wu throwing in countless nationalistic touches and patriotic speeches throughout, so much so that the film at times verges on spoofery, resembling Team America in its fervor to extoll the virtues of China and to praise its manly soldiers. Some fairly awful acting also helps up the comedy value, Wu turning in a hilariously over the top performance in the lead and Adkins and others gnashing their way through some laughably bizarre dialogue. While action films are often thin on plot, Wu actually does attempt to pack in plenty of narrative detail here - sadly, none of it makes any sense whatsoever, from the inherent lack of sense in the mercenaries’ plan, through to odd touches like an anti-Chinese virus and other surreal details. It’s all very daft and hard to take seriously as a result, though luckily in a way which entertains rather than grates, and wisely Wu doesn’t seem to have been taking things seriously in the least.

Wolf Warriors is all very macho and vaguely vulgar though, more importantly, it’s also a lot of fun, and despite the lack of martial arts there’s plenty for fans of Wu Jing or over the top action films to enjoy. Though what it says about Wu as a director is anyone’s guess, approached in the right frame of mind it offers a brisk burst of old school carnage, peppered with moments of accidental humor.

by James Mudge - EasternKicks.com